YALSA at the 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting

Registration, Travel & Hotel Information

Bundled registration will be open from Sept. 2 thru Sept. 30, 2008 via ALA's Midwinter Registration page. This option is for persons who want to attend both the 2009 Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference. With bundled registration, you can register for both at the same time at one low rate.

Hotel reservations will open in September for bundled registrants and in October for advance registrants. Please note: individuals will not be able to reserve a hotel room until they have registered for the Midwinter Meeting. This is a different procedure from in the past.

United Airlines is offering special meeting discounts for attendees of ALA conferences. Simply call the United Special Meeting Desk at 800-521-4041 and refer to Meeting ID Number 500CR to receive a 2-10% discount off applicable fares, including First Class. If you purchase your ticket at least 30 days prior to travel, you will receive an additional 5% discount. This special offer applies to travel on domestic segments of all United Airlines, United Express, TED and United code share flights (UA*) operated by US Airways, US Airways Express and Air Canada. There are no fees to use the 800 number. International attendees will receive a 10% discount off the lowest applicable fare (excluding First Class), or a 15% discount off the fully refundable, unrestricted coach fare when they call their local United Airlines reservation number and refer to meeting ID number 500CR. An additional 5% discount will apply when tickets are purchased at least 60 days in advance of your travel dates. Discounts apply to United and Lufthansa (code share) flights. You can also make your reservation online at www.united.com, using ALA promotion code 500CR (click on "More Search Options" to enter the code).

Local Information

Please help us out, Coloradoans! Any information you have about Denver that would be helpful to visitors can be shared here.

Looking for free wi fi? Anyone in Denver know particulars on this? Does it work in the Conference Center? What about nearby hotels?

Selected YALSA Events

Besides all of its committee, jury, taskforce and board meetings, YALSA will host a full day institute on Friday Jan. 23rd that focuses on serving diverse teens as well as a mixer and tech playground featuring refreshments, prizes and a chance to learn about the latest technologies for teens with hands on demos. Please check back here regularly for more details. To learn more about activities going on beyond YALSA, visit ALA's Midwinter wiki.

Friday, January 23

"Reaching Today's Diverse Teens": There are over 30 million teens in America today and they are the most ethnically diverse generation ever. Are you ready for them? Join us from 9:00 to 4:30 and learn how to identify all of the teens in their service area, as well as learn exciting, interactive and innovative ways to reach this diverse group. Serving recent teen immigrants will also be explored, as will how to maximize your impact by collaborating with youth serving organizations in your community. Lunch provided. Ticketed event. $210 for YALSA members, students and retirees; $250 for ALA members; $300 for nonmembers.

YALSA Mixer & Tech Playground: Join YALSA from 8-10PM for a fun evening of mingling with colleagues and sampling new technologies for teen library services. Gain hands-on experience with great tech tools such as micro-blogs, DS games and more. Receive personal attention from a "tech concierge” and leave with ideas on how everything applies to your own library setting, no matter how small your budget. Refreshments and fun tech prizes available. Ticketed event, $40.

Tech Playground includes:
1. Nintendo DS -- consoles in multiple colors and many games to sample
2. America's Next Top Booktalker -- compete or just vote on who you think deserves the title ANTB
3. MySpace Photoshoot -- dress up for the camera and leave with a sweet profile pic
4. Avatars -- learn about different avatar creation sites while guessing who is who
5. SMS reference -- sample SMS reference services (Text A Librarian and ChaCha to get answers to scavenger hunt questions
6. Reader's Theater -- Galaxy Press demonstrates how to utilize technology in Reader's Theater
7. Twitter -- sign-up now (or via SMS at the event) so you can cast your vote for ANTB using this popular microblogging service)
8. Flip video -- learn just how easy it is to create and post videos to Youtube
9. Ringtones -- Make your own and then deliver it to your cell via Bluetooth
10. Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? -- if so, Tutor.com offers the chance to prove it!
11. People Bingo -- techie toys style
12. The Game -- if you don't know what it is then you just might win!

Saturday, January 24

Leadership Development Saturday 8AM to 10AM. This is a working meeting for YALSA's Committee, Jury and Taskforce Chairs. Never been a Chair, but thinking about being one? Come to this event. A continental breakfast will be served from 8:00 to 8:30.

All Committee meeting Saturday 10AM - 12:30 PM. This is a working meeting for all of YALSA's Process Committees, Juries and Taskforces. Not on a commmittee or other member group? Stop on by and learn what it's all about. A continental breakfast will be served.

Sunday, January 25

Blogger Meetup 8AM - 10AM - Current YALSA bloggers and those interested in blogging for YALSA are invited to this meet-up to meet each other and brainstorm how to make the YALSA blog even better than it is.

Best Books for Young Adults Teen Session: 1:30 - 3:30: Come hear local Denver teens talk about their favorite picks for the 2009 BBYA list.

YALSA Discussion & Interest Group Open House: 4:00 - 5:30: Want to get more involved in YALSA? All of YALSA's Discussion and Interest Groups will be at this event. Come learn a little about each and decide which one(s) you'd like to opt into.

Monday, January 26

The year's best books & media for teens are announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards Press Conference, from 8-9:15 AM (mountain) Monday morning in the convention center. Be there to find out who wins the:

Can't make it? Watch the event live via a webcast from the ALA home page.

Joint Youth Division Member Reception from 6:00 to 7:30. Finish your day here, mingle with peers and enjoy light hors d'oevres as well as wine and beer, compliments of the sponsor Hyperion Books for Children.